


Burn the World

by Liliace



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (i guess), (what do you mean that's not a thing), Enemies With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, Humor, Loki Does What He Wants, M/M, No Angst, POV Tony Stark, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark-centric, this combination can't end well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 19:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6126919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liliace/pseuds/Liliace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony battled with Loki and had sex with him, often both within the same day. Nothing odd or unusual about that at all.</p>
<p>Only maybe there were some feelings involved after all, and affairs never stay secret forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burn the World

**Author's Note:**

> "A love like ours could have burnt down a city" from Hercule Poirot partly inspired this; the second part of inspiration came from 'Voltaire - When You're Evil' which is an awesome song and if you haven't heard it, you should (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxJrjV4PNXA)
> 
> The timing of this is ambiguous on purpose; it could take place right after the Avengers, or after AOU, any time in between, or even far away in the future. Loki obviously escaped from prison (like a cell could hold him forever) and Thor is probably busy with other realms or something because he isn't mentioned in this.
> 
> (Also, this is the Loki/Tony fic I mentioned in the notes of 'ask and ye shall receive', in case anyone cares)

So, really, Tony couldn't say how it all started. It was probably because of timing, though.

If he and Pepper hadn't broken up earlier that day, if Loki hadn't attacked that night, if Steve's shield hadn't knocked Loki off the building just as Tony was flying by, if Clint's arrow hadn't caused Tony's focus to be shifted a second before Loki used a teleporting spell…

Yeah, Tony was going to blame it all on the timing – he couldn't quite say whether it was good or bad timing, because he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it all. The others would certainly say that it was a bad thing, Tony knew, but he was rather torn.

"You insolent human!" Loki had snarled when they landed in Paris, as Tony later learnt. "How dare you drag along!"

"Ugh," Tony had moaned, still shaken by the teleporting part of the journey. "Where the hell are we?"

Maybe it was because neither of them attempted to kill the other the instant they got their bearings back, but they continued on that civil path for the next few moments. Well, in this case 'civil' meant 'using verbal attacks rather than physical ones'.

Come to think of it, it was just as much Loki's fault as it was bad timing's. If Loki hadn't teleported them, if Loki hadn't started that argument, if Loki didn't get in Tony's face, if Loki didn't look so damned attractive in his outfit…

Yes, it was clearly Loki's fault. Though that might not reassure Tony's teammates very much; the whole reason the thing was a problem was because they hated Loki, after all.

But at that one moment, Tony was upset and hurting and all bumped up on adrenaline, and letting Loki kiss him – probably to shut him up – seemed like a good idea. It kept his mind off other things, after all, and Tony wasn't a stranger to comfort sex, anyway.

Not that there was very much comfort involved. It was quick, filled with some sort of passion, and lacking any kind of caring. Tony made sure not to hurt Loki, though, because enemies they might be, but Tony didn't much care for hurting his – even one off – lovers.

But yes, the whole thing was because of timing and Loki. Tony wasn't at any fault there.

The second time, though… Well, it might have been just a teeny tiny bit Tony's fault.

"I appreciate you not trying to stop me from leaving," Tony commented to Loki as he attempted to blast the alien's head off.

Loki scoffed as he dodged and jumped closer to Tony, either in order to keep the conversation going or to get the advantage as he was more adept at close combat.

"I'm not as crude as to kill someone right after sex," Loki said.

"So I was that good, huh," Tony grinned, though the expression was lost on Loki due to the Iron Man mask standing between them.

"I did not say that," Loki rolled his eyes before he had to jump back due to a shot from Natasha.

"It's all in the subtext, honey," Tony said, happy that he had turned off his com or it might have been him Natasha was shooting at. Never let it be said that she wasn't protective of Clint, after all. And sleeping with the alien demi-god that had mind controlled Clint and made him kill others might be crossing the line a bit.

Or maybe a bit more than a bit. But what was done was done.

"Your performance could have been better," Loki said then.

It was obviously just a jab, like any other the two of them had been exchanging, but Tony narrowed his eyes. It certainly wasn't intended as a challenge, but Tony chose to take it as one anyway.

"Lokes, I can fuck you so hard that you won't be able to speak by the end of it," he said back.

Which was probably what led to Loki jumping close to him again and teleporting the two of them to his new apartment – Tony had obviously discovered the location of the earlier one. So, yeah, pretty much Tony's fault that time.

But he had still been reeling from his break up with Pepper, and the first time he had sex with Loki had been quite pleasant. Also, he hadn't slept with anyone since; none of his friends would go for that comfort sex thing, and Tony didn't feel comfortable being so vulnerable with a stranger.

Yes, it was better to be vulnerable with an enemy. No, that wasn't completely illogical; Tony knew that Loki wanted to kill him, so he didn't have to wonder about some hidden motive. He also knew that Loki let him leave last time without any attempts to stop him, and there was literally no reason for him to do that if he was using sex as some sort of a trap.

So they slept together again. And then Loki showed up at Tony's tower – causing all sorts of alarms to blare because he quite literally appeared out of thin air – and they had sex there. And then Tony flirted with him during another fight, and Loki transported them to an empty alley where they shared a quick fuck.

And that trend kept going and going, until Tony realized that they were regular fuck buddies.

It was weird. Tony had done friends with benefits before, sure, but never enemies with benefits, and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it all. Obviously he didn't feel strong enough negative emotions since he didn't put a stop to it, but he wasn't sure whether he felt that the entire thing was positive either.

Maybe it was just neutral. Something to take off the edge for both of them, yet something that didn't affect the rest of their relationship. They still fought on a semi-regular basis and tried to kill or capture each other, and the rest of the Avengers had no idea that something was going on.

Tony sometimes wondered why Loki didn't tell them. It would obviously have been an amazing way to drive a rift between the team members. He figured it was because Loki thought no one would believe him; there was no way it was because Loki didn't want Tony to end their thing, after all, since there were no feelings involved on either side.

Except then Loki got hurt. Natasha managed to hit him with one of her special bullets – à la Tony Stark – that went right through Loki's shoulder, dangerously close to Loki's heart. Loki was smart enough to retreat, then, and the fight ended faster than normally.

There should have been happiness or at the very least satisfaction involved, but all Tony could manage was a frown and a 'this isn't right' feeling. That was rather peculiar considering that the purpose of their fights was to injure one another, but somehow it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

When they next saw Loki – back in full health – and Tony involuntarily breathed a small sigh of relief, he started to clue in.

Maybe there were some emotions besides lust involved.

"You know," Tony commented one night after sex; Loki had shown up at his tower, and he was lounging on his bed when Loki started to get up. "You don't have to leave."

Loki stopped. Slowly he turned to look back at Tony, a frown on his face. "Stark," he said, and there was a warning in his voice – Tony didn't know what warning he was trying to convey, though, so he didn't bother heeding it.

"The bed is big enough for two, as we have proven. And I feel like a lousy host every time you just up and leave after I finish fucking you senseless," Tony said.

Loki observed him quietly, probably trying to judge Tony's motives. Well, good luck with that; even Tony wasn't quite sure why he offered to let Loki stay.

When Tony didn't avert his eyes and instead continued gazing back at Loki steadily, Loki nodded but got up. He didn't say anything as he magicked his clothes back on, and Tony watched with a neutral expression as he teleported away.

Only after Loki was gone did he allow himself to bang his head on the pillows.

"Why didn't you just confess your love to him, Stark? That might have gone over better," Tony groused, annoyed with himself for showing emotions. Especially to an enemy.

Yet the next time they slept together – and there was a next time, that Tony had never doubted; nothing beyond a clear 'no' would probably make either of them stop – Loki made no attempt to get up from Tony's bed. Tony looked at him from the corner of his eye, but Loki didn't move, only continued to lay down there. Slowly, Tony closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.

He woke up before Loki, and found the alien still lying next to him. As he observed Loki's sleeping figure he suddenly realized how very bizarre it all was; this was his enemy, someone he regularly tried to blast off the sky when they fought. Yet here they were, sleeping side by side, trusting the other not to take advantage of their vulnerability.

How had it gotten to that point, Tony wondered. Certainly it hadn't started like that, or even with any intentions to develop into such a relationship; well, to be fair, it had started with few intentions besides finding some relaxation.

Tony drifted off to sleep while observing Loki, and when he woke up again, Loki was gone. It didn't disappoint Tony in the least, however – it wasn't like he had expected some mushy morning after.

This became the routine for them. It was fun and relaxing, as it had been in the beginning, but nowadays when Tony dragged Loki into a kiss, it felt like… something more. Something beyond what it used to be, yet less than what he had shared with Pepper. It was still amazing, though.

So, naturally, that's when something went wrong.

It was Tony's fault for underestimating them, really. He had known that the other Avengers had been suspicious and worried because Loki kept 'kidnapping' Tony every once in a while, but he hadn't honestly expected them to figure out a solution to that.

Yet here they were, Tony and Loki in an empty alleyway sharing a kiss, and Natasha and Clint staring in shock before regaining their bearings.

"What the hell?" Clint exclaimed, staring at them incredulously.

Quick as lighting, Tony and Loki pulled apart and then Loki teleported away. Tony kind of wanted to curse him for leaving him to deal with the two spies slash assassins, but then again said two people were his teammates and not Loki's… And anyway, Loki's presence might have just made it all worse.

"So, don't freak out," Tony said rather uselessly because it was clear that Clint was already freaking out and Natasha never lost her composure over anything, "but Loki and I have been fucking. I like to think it keeps him busy with other things besides world domination."

"Stark," Natasha growled, and that was the first time in a very long time that Natasha had called him by his surname.

Her warning rang clear enough, though, so Tony obediently shut up and followed the two when they took off back towards where the fight had been going on.

"How did you find us – uh, me – anyway?" Tony asked, not able to contain his curiosity. He had more of that than self-preservation.

"Tracker," Clint muttered absently, still seeming to be in a state of shock.

And Tony could understand that. It would probably be the same if he found out that Steve was sleeping with the leader of the Ten Rings – except not really, because said leader was dead and so he'd be just as grossed out as offended if Steve chose to sleep with that corpse.

There was a point to that mental tangent, Tony was sure of it. It was just difficult to think when he felt Natasha's glare at the side of his head so strongly.

Tony was rather tempted to just take off and fly to his tower, put the whole place on lockdown, and avoid the team and SHIELD until everyone had had enough time to cool down. But knowing said everyone, that would be more likely to give them time to get even more upset than calm them down.

So he walked to Steve with Natasha and Clint, got on the Quinjet with them all, listened to Natasha explaining the situation to Steve, and then sat quietly and listened to Steve lecture him.

"He hasn't killed me, though," Tony commented when Steve finally ran out of things to say. "Nor has he killed anyone else – well, after that first time of trying to take over the world."

"So, what?" Clint asked sarcastically. "He's getting better? You're helping him become a productive member of society? Don't kid yourself, Stark."

Tony sighed and gave up. He wasn't likely to manage to convince the others that Loki wasn't wholly evil, especially since he wasn't quite sure whether he believed that himself or not. He just hoped that Fury didn't kick him off the team once he learnt about his relations with the enemy.

The next time Loki showed up at Tony's place Tony threw a glare his way. Sure it wasn't only Loki's fault – Tony could admit that he shared some of the blame – but getting suspended from the team wasn't very fun. Neither was the shouting he had to endure from Fury.

Loki didn't react to the glare beyond a lifted eyebrow, and Tony rolled his eyes.

"You have no idea what torture I went through because of you," he groused. "Seriously, who knew that Fury could get even more upset with me?"

"I don't see how your failure to notice a tracker is any fault of mine," Loki said haughtily.

"But you are the evil one," Tony shot back. "This would be so much easier if you just stopped trying to destroy things or take over the planet or cause mischief or whatever it is you're doing."

Loki gave him a considering look before speaking again. "I have no aim besides entertainment."

"Sure," Tony scoffed. "That's why you went to such lengths to get the Chitauri here."

"It was not by choice," Loki snarled, then took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Though the staff did not affect me, its owner has… other methods of persuasion. I was in a vulnerable position when they found me."

Tony frowned and thought back. It was true that Loki had been much different back then than he was now; Tony's thoughts about how Loki and he were similar came back to him, as well as the realization what had originally caused those ponderings. It hadn't been the sense of drama, nor the arrogance; it had been the glint of madness in Loki's eyes that Tony remembered from his time after Afghanistan.

And Thor had mentioned something about Loki falling into the abyss or whatever. Clearly Loki had been quite fucked up in the head upon his first arrival on Earth, so maybe Tony should give him the benefit of the doubt.

Tony scoffed. As if.

"You might not kill people anymore, but that doesn't mean that you're good," Tony said, rolling his eyes.

Loki blinked, and then his expression turned hurt. "I'm not evil, either. And sometimes, being the villain gets rather… lonely."

"So you want to become one of the good guys?" Tony asked sarcastically. When Loki nodded, some desperation leaking into his expression, Tony laughed. "Fuck off, Lokes."

Loki shrugged and smirked. "You continue to surprise me with your intelligence every day."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Tony grinned. Then he sobered up and looked at Loki consideringly. "So asking you to stop your mischief is too much?"

"I am the God of Mischief," Loki said imperiously, answering the question without really answering it. And really, that was what Tony had been afraid of.

"We can't keep doing this," Tony said. Loki stared at him, this time truly looking shocked.

And yeah, it had rather come out of nowhere. Or maybe not; perhaps Tony's teammates' opinions had affected him more than he assumed. But honestly, more than that, it was probably the fact that Tony was getting tired of balancing his three lives. Two were quite enough for him, thank you very much.

"Any particular reason?" Loki asked, narrowing his eyes. Tony wondered if he was entertaining the idea of killing Natasha and Clint for discovering their relationship.

"You're too likable," Tony grinned, though the expression lacked some humour. "I'm starting to get attached to that haughty face of yours."

Loki nodded consideringly. "And asking you to join me would be too much?"

Tony blinked in surprise. He hadn't actually thought that Loki was very attached to him, never mind attached enough to ask if he wanted to join the dark side.

"Yeah, not happening," Tony shrugged. "If I would have gone down that road, I would've done it years ago."

Loki nodded again. "I will see you on the battlefield, then."

"Yeah – well, after my suspension ends, anyway," Tony said. "And Lokes? It was fun."

"It's a pity it had to end," Loki said as he turned to leave. "Love like ours could have burned the world."

Then he teleported away, leaving Tony standing there in shock. Love? Who said anything about love?

There were no answers to be had, so instead he threw it out of his mind. He called Steve, letting him know that he wasn't going to be seeing Loki again; Steve was glad, but disappointed that Tony hadn't captured their enemy while he had the chance. But fuck if Tony was going to end their relationship in betrayal.

A week passed without any sign of Loki. Then two, three, and soon a month had gone by. Tony couldn't help but worry, though he didn't say anything to anyone. Anyway, his worry was probably unfounded; it was more likely that Loki had decided to focus on another realm than that he had gotten fatally injured.

After two months, Loki appeared in Tony's tower again. The alarm went off, naturally, so Tony had a near heart attack as he was watching TV.

"Uh, hello," Tony said when he realized who it was, at the same time tapping on his phone to shut down the alarm.

"Hello," Loki greeted amiably.

"You know we don't have that 'no capturing or hurting each other' thing going on anymore, right?" Tony asked, wondering if he should call one of his suits to him.

"I am aware," Loki said. "But I did not come here to fight."

"Then what are you here for? We're not doing that sex thing anymore, either," Tony said, understandably confused by the whole thing.

"Indeed," Loki nodded. "I came to suggest a deal."

"A deal?" Tony asked with lifted eyebrows.

Loki nodded again. "You make me proper authentications, saying that I'm an American citizen, and I won't attack your world anymore."

Tony didn't ask what brought that on. He didn't ask where Loki had been for the last two months. He didn't need to know those things; all that was important was that Loki was there now, asking for something so bizarre.

"And how can I trust that you'll hold your side of the deal?" Tony questioned.

"We have had mutual – if unspoken – agreements for a long time," Loki said, as if the answer should be obvious. "And I'll give you my word."

Tony tilted his head as he considered it. On one hand, Loki might be lying. On the other, there really weren't any dangerous downsides to making Loki an American citizen.

"Alright," Tony said, agreeing even though he probably should have checked with Steve or Fury first. "Any requests? Names, and so on?" He pulled his tablet to him even as he glanced at Loki.

Loki nodded. "Lyle Smith. And while my real age is much too high, it should be at least forty. I've been informed that that's the age requirement for a presidential candidate."

Tony stopped tapping on his tablet and slowly looked up at Loki. There was a mischievous spark dancing in his eyes, though Tony understood it well enough to know it didn't mean Loki was messing with him; it meant that Loki was messing with the world.

Tony laughed. Considering their current politicians, Loki wasn't a bad choice. And maybe, if Loki held his end of the deal, they could burn down the world together.

Even if he had to endure another lecture from Fury for it.

**Author's Note:**

> (Can Loki teleport in canon or is that fanon? Well, it's happening in this fic anyway)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review telling me what you think!


End file.
